Iran says it seized Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in Gulf

Iran confirmed on Saturday that it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf.

Local media said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized the tanker, which was carrying petrochemical cargo bound for Singapore, on Friday.

The authorities said "the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorised cargo" without providing specifics.

"Yesterday morning at 7.30 [4am GMT], after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the Marshall Islands, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rapid reaction units of the naval forces monitored its movements and intercepted and seized it," said a statement from the IRGC.

Ellie Shafik of Vanguard Tech told AFP it was "unclear" what the actual reason was for the seizure.

"Iran will likely frame this as a judicially ordered, law-based action, masking what may just be a strategic seizure," Shafik said.

The seizure comes as tensions between Iran and the West have continued to mount over the country's nuclear programme.

Widespread United Nations sanctions, including an arms embargo, against Iran were reinstated in September, following the collapse of nuclear negotiations.

Omani-mediated talks between Iran and the United States collapsed in June after Israeli and American strikes on Iran, bringing diplomatic progress to a halt.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies any intention to develop nuclear arms.

The reimposed sanctions were a "snapback" mechanism from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which had suspended penalties in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme.

That deal began to unravel after US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 and reimposed crippling US sanctions, including efforts to block Iranian oil exports, plunging Iran deeper into economic crisis.